Showing activity is significantly ahead of last year and also ahead of every year except 2021, which had insane competition and price appreciation.
Pending sales continued to increase this week in response to the increase in new listings last week, and multiple offers did the same. Coming soon listings also increased, a sign of more new listings to come. It’s good to see everything is staying ahead of last year.
New listings continue to be dramatically ahead of last year, while pending and coming soon listings are also ahead of last year but not as dramatically.
Take a look at the chart of annual national home price appreciation 1980-2023 in the post below from our blog at Keeping Current Matters. Although not the crazy price appreciation of 2021, last year was still ahead of the 43-year average.
Sharlene Hensrud, RE/MAX Results – shensrud@homesmsp.com
Your Home Is a Powerful Investment
For Buyers, First Time Home Buyers, Buying Myths
Going into 2023, there was a lot of talk about a possible recession that would cause the housing market to crash. Some in the media were even forecasting home prices would drop by as much as 10-20%—and that might have made you feel a bit unsure about buying a home.
But here’s what actually happened: home prices went up more than usual. Brian D. Luke, Head of Commodities at S&P Dow Jones Indices, explains:
“Looking back at the year, 2023 appears to have exceeded average annual home price gains over the past 35 years.”
To put last year’s growth into context, the graph below uses data from Freddie Mac on how home prices have changed each year going back to 1980. The dotted line shows the long-term average for appreciation:
The big takeaway? Home prices almost always go up.
As an article from Forbes says:
“. . . the U.S. real estate market has a long and reliable history of increasing in value over time.”
In fact, since 1980, the only time home prices dropped was during the housing market crash (shown in red in the graph above). Fortunately, the market today isn’t like it was in 2008. For starters, there aren’t enough available homes to meet buyer demand right now. On top of that, homeowners have a tremendous amount of equity, so they’re on much stronger footing than they were back then. That means there won’t be a wave of foreclosures that causes prices to fall.
The fact that home values went up every single year except those four in red is why owning a home can be one of the smartest moves you can make. When you’re a homeowner, you own something that typically becomes more valuable over time. And as your home’s value appreciates, your net worth grows.
So, if you’re financially stable and prepared for the costs and expenses of homeownership, buying a home might make a lot of sense for you.
Bottom Line
Home prices almost always go up over time. That makes buying a home a smart move, if you’re ready and able. Let’s connect to talk about your goals and what’s available in our area.
